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It was a hectic day to start with. I had couple of
meetings aligned with the target in
mind that I also have to leave early from office. This pressure was obvious
since my
packing was still to be done with multiples of cotton to
be ironed. However, I finished my meetings, met my little sister who was about
to give her undergoing internals. She provided me something, which I was
foreseeing from a very long time “ complete series of Two & a half Men “. I
just simply love the phenomena on which this show is based. Well, in my mind I
blessed my sister for her exam & thanked her a lot for giving me this
valuable piece of media. Though, I was in a bit of hurry so never got the chance
to convey my wishes & thanks verbally. Now, I went over to my office for finishing the undone work.
While, wrapping up a thought just came to my mind to check the train schedule.
As soon as the safari page got refreshed, a bit of shock came to me. My cache
memory kept on reminding me that train departure was to be at 9:50PM, but some
how it came out to be 8:50PM. Now, pressure became double on me, as I have to
do multiple of things after getting home & I was still thinking which one
is to be prioritized. First thing, I called up my wife, intimated her about the
departure time change. In next 5 minutes, I was off to home. It was still mid
of afternoon so chances of getting traffic was null. But still I got some
interference in the route.
Somehow,
I reached in next 15 minutes. After entering the home, my first thought came to
have my lunch as my stomach started giving me signals for the carbs to be put into.
But, I decided to have my bag packed first then have my dinner & then iron
the undone cotton. In next one hour, my lunch was done. Simultaneously my wife
arrived, she brought me some snacks to be taken in journey. Soon, I ironed my
clothes & my packing was all finished. The only thing remaining was the
eateries to be silver foiled with some fruits. Now, it was 5PM, which indicated
for my daughter to be picked from her day boarding. I rushed to her school,
picked her up & was soon back to home with some “Paani k batashe”. Ummmm, I
just love it when stuffed with hot white matar.
We finished it & my cab was also to arrive in next
half an hour. I got my clothes changed, packed my laptop & other
electronics. My daughter was superbly enjoyed with the new wax color box I gave
her this morning. She was all busy sharpening those colors’ & filling her
color book. As soon as started
putting in my socks, she was alerted that we might be off to some place. Slowly
she became adamant that we will go together. My wife persuaded her to go to
park with her bicycle.
Meanwhile a phone call from the society security
confirmed that my cab has arrived. We locked the home & started waiting
outside the lift. There are two lifts in my block but only one is working since
last 1.5 yrs. The other lift in under progress to get replaced from last 1
month, but still relief is days away as it seems. How ever, lift came is 7 mins
& we were descending to ground floor. My cab was just outside, I asked the
driver to open the trunk to put my luggage in. My daughter was getting the feel that something is not going
as per the plan. So, she started crying & calling out for me. As my cab
took off, she started running behind my cab (as told by my wife later on).
I has window of approx 90 minutes to get to the station. But somehow, I was getting the feeling
that today I will reach early. My feeling just got true when my cab dropped at
that station in just 50 minutes. With 20 minutes for train to get railed at the
platform I started thinking what to do something useful. Soon, I realized I
need a metal chain & lock. I purchased it & started walking towards the
platform. As the security check
was approaching I slight doubt was bothering me about the small knife I brought
for cutting the fruits & a small packet of domestic weed, which I was carrying
for my Bangalore friends (not exactly weed, but its called as Chooran in
Mathura). I kept my bag on the security belt & went passed the metal
detector. I was happy that no one checked it out & later on I realized I never
thought to put my laptop bag, which I was carrying on my shoulders. Never mind
& approached towards the platform. Soon I spotted a nice place at the
platform & started waiting for the train. Soon, I eared some one saying
that train will come in next 15 mins. Those 15 mins were like 1 hour with
nothing to do & just standing & waiting.
Soon, I utilized my 2mins for
buying the paper soap from a guy passing by. He was a very good sales man. Each
paper soap was of Rs 5, but he has no change of Rs 5. So, if you don’t have
change you got to buy two strips & spill out Rs 10/-. Though some people
resisted by how come you don’t have change. But he was very firm that he
doesn’t have change, so if you want either give change or take two. In 5 mins
he earned 100 Rs, with 10 people buying paper soap & luckily no one had
change. Now, 15 mins was about to
get over. Suddenly I saw the engine headlight & was thrilled that it has
come before 15 mins. Every one rushing in the train as if it would take off if
not boarded in next 1min. I relaxed a bit & started walking towards my
coach. After 4 coaches, by coach came & I entered. As I reached my seat,
two persons were in negotiation with a guy having a lower seat to exchange for
a side lower. This negotiation went on for 10 mins & all were settled, as
the guy agreed to move to side lower. It seems, he didn’t mind, since it was
rajdhani express. What difference could it make to change the seats; we all
were about to get the same service for next 36 hours. The next thought which
started bombarding me was to move into my slippers & pack the shoes &
chain my Bag . But my throat was feeling scrocthed due to heat. But, I pulled
out aerated water instead of Normal H2O. With a pouch of namkeen & cold
drink in hand, the fellow passengers were as if I was having a drink. I smiled
a lot inside my mind & slowly finished my namkeen. I was still in the
middle of having my so called Drinks & soup came .
I immediately put aside
the cold drink & had last bite of namkeen. In next 10 mins I finished off
my soup & was back to my cold drink. It may have seemed awkward having both
at same time, but I didn’t cared for the surrounding environment. I was listening
to some rocky nos on my mobile, as the pantry boy came asking about the veg/non
veg preference. My veg thali came after 20 mins. I was taken back as soon as I took
the first bite of the curry & dal. There really is a difference between
meals served in normal trains & Rajdhani. But, the food was awesome &
finished every bit of it. I was surprised on myself also, as I don’t remember finishing
off very single bit of train food ever.
My dinner was over & now everyone started making their
bed. I waited till everyone was settled in my compartment. As I having an upper
berth, it took some effort to get my bed settled. But I got it done & moved
my self into it. The next thing I prepared to do was to watch 2 ½ men. I pulled
out my external HD from my bag & started watching it. It is simply
hilarious to watch it. The fav8 character character “Charlie”. He has been
shown very witty & I don’t give a damn kinda person. I was in the middle of
2nd episode when ice cream came as my dessert. I hurriedly finished it off & was
back to my 2 & ½ men. In next episode I was again interrupted by the TC. He
left in 5mins, lights were off. I adjusted myself & my laptop. After the 8th
Episode, I started feeling dizzy so I decided to continue with it next morning.
I started my night playlist on the mobile, with my ear phones plugged in &
was all tucked in the blanket. Good Night to my sweet baby & sweetheart at
home. !
Next morning I got awake by some message on my mobile
which I didn’t bothered to check as I was still half asleep. I kept on rolling
on various sides to have some more sleep. But after 8 am, I was unable to
continue so I woke up. First thing I did was to switch on my data network so
that I can check my current location. After checking it, I realized it was time
to answer the nature’s call. I pulled out my tooth brush, hand towel & was
off to washroom with my mobile. Next 15 mins were invested in replying to all the
messages which I was getting on my Whatsapp. As I came back after getting
fresh, breakfast was already getting served. I took the veg breakfast &
finished it off quickly, as tea was about to be served. The pantry boy had a
hard time with the aged couple sitting in front of me. Somehow, there was no sauce &
butter in their breakfast.
The
pantry boy was a gentle one, he apologized & served them the required. I
was over with my Tea & started listening to one of my fav8 hot number
“Mohabbat hai Mirchi”. The song may seem out of the line & non sense to many
, but I like it . My long time pal “bony” , becomes very happy & remembers
me every time, he hears this one. As the tummy was full, I moved on to my berth
& started planning to have second round of nap. As I lay down on my berth,
I was having this feeling of talking to my daughter, so I called my wife. As,
she was enroute to her office, so couldn’t get the call answered. Later on her msg
, in which I mentioned I intended to talk to Avani ( my daughter), she told me
that she is also missing me. I decided to call her in evening.
Now, it was time to continue with further episodes of 2 ½ Men.
The series is so well designed in a closed loop that you will find it difficult
to get out of it. The episodes went on & on. It was a sudden shake on my
legs by the pantry boy when I realized that its been 3 hours I have been
watching this endless series. Phew… what a series, I felt like e chain watcher
of 2 ½ men ( addicted ). The pantry boy came for taking the choices of Veg/non
Veg for lunch. Although , now I am very open to non veg dishes, still I don’t
prefer non veg served in trains. You can say I am choosy, but my picks are
limited & specific’s. Well, everyone has their taste’s & experiment
choices. I prefer to have from the best menu I know. Experiment’s in food are
restricted to certain levels for me. Lunch came in around 1:30PM. The food which
I had last night seems much better than this one. May be, I was experiencing the law of Diminishing needs.
Though, I wasn’t too hungry, but why to waste food. Thinking this, I somehow finished it
of. The after effects of Good quality Rice in Mid day with a cold ambience is strong
enough to doze any one off. The same happened to me, my eyes were like
demanding it from me: “shut me up”. I still don’t remember the time when I went
into hibernation mode.
My sleep was disturbed by someone’s voice in top pitch saying
something about good quality samosa’s being sold. The word samosa acted like a trigger to me. I got up , looked
out of the window. It was Secundrabad. When I got down on the station, I was
wondering what does it takes to maintain a station in this top class condition.
I can bet on anything, Station like secundrabad is a rare view. So clean, tidy,
organized.. You can see your image on the platform floor, such was the quality
of cleanliness. Train was scheduled for 15 mins stoppage time.It was ample time
to explore more of the platform. First thing I went for the samosa which I
heard before. I wandered from one end to another. It was super clean
everywhere. I was totally kind of rejuvenated by its freshness. Well, here comes
the first warning signal of train departure, I boarded the train. Within, next
min train started leaving from Secundarabad. A thought started coming to my mind
to check the train route what all stations are next till next morning until
Bengaluru., I mean Bangalore. Saying Bangalore, gives a nice feeling. Bengaluru
sounds like Alien.
As I checked the train route map , I found that there is
no major station in between Secundarabad & Bangalore. It had 4-5 major
stations in between, but those didn’t appeal me. Time was around 7PM. The
pantry guys have started their activities for serving of the dinner. Someone
was managing the mineral water bottles, someone looking after the yogurt,
someone for ice cream. I continued to watch them for another couple of minutes.
After a while i slipped into a quick power nap. I was brought into senses by
the pantry guy, asking for preference of veg/non veg. I simply said ‘Veg’ &
once again tried to go back in Power Nap. I kept my eyes closed, but couldn’t
sleep anymore. After 5-10 mins, dinner arrived. I gathered myself, arranged the
bed rolls & managed the space for my dinner. Though, there was not much
scope left after eating the Samosas, but still I managed to finish half of it.
Main attraction to which I was more interested was the ice cream to be given. I
finished my dinner quickly & was waiting for the ice cream to be served.
Finally , my wait was over. I finished every single bit of it. Feeling like
content, I decided to walk in the train fo another 10-15 mins . I went to &
fro in 3-4 coaches, for another 10 mins.
Eventually, I was back to my seat. I asked the Coach assistant
for a fresh bedroll. He asked me, if he should arrange it also for me. I
happily agreed. The coach assistant nicely rolled out the bed sheets &
blankets. After finishing, he smiled & said “ Koi aur sewa ,Sir “. I understood
, what he was trying to achieve. I gave him Rs 20/- & asked him, morning
breakfast is there na? He nodded in Yes & said “ See you in morning, Good
Night Sir “. I replied good night & slipped in the blanket. After going
through my various social media connecting tools, I started feeling sleepy. I
checked the time, it was around 9:50pm. I decided to finally call off the day
& slipped quietly in the dream world.
Morning, 5:30AM: I woke up. It was a very good sleep, as it
was without any disturbance. I got freshened up, as breakfast was about to get
served. After having the breakfast, I changed my outfits & was ready to de
board at Bangalore station, which was about to come in another 15-20 mins.
Everyone in the compartment was more than ready to get down as soon as the
train reaches the platform. Finally, I was at the destination. I got down, looked
for some information about the city transport . Collecting all the Intel’s I went outside the station. The weather
was so amazing, as it was welcoming me Coming there first time. I was overjoyed
seeing the weather. Finally, I took
an AC bus & was ready to capture the city until the final destination at my
old friend’s home, who was also too eager to meet me after a long span of 13
years. Well, my experience with
City & city people are another set of long instances .
I was happy, because my First Long distance Journey gave me
a beautiful set of Experiences to remember lifelong.
!! BON VOYAGE !!
☺☺
